As satellite and cable television systems offer viewers more and more channels of programming from which to choose, the difficulty associated with selecting a channel increases. Some systems attempt to ease the viewer's burden by allowing him or her to predesignate certain “favorite” channels. However, this solution is inadequate for at least two reasons. First, the user must follow a procedure to designate which channels are to be included in the favorites list. This procedure is often complicated and avoided by many users who shy away from user manuals. Second, this solution forces a user to select his favorite channels ahead of time. Typically, the user selects channels which are likely to show programming he is interested in based on the type of programming this channel has shown in the past. However, these selections often turn out to be inaccurate for any given time period of programming. For example, if a user includes NBC in his or her favorites list, because that user enjoys the movies NBC shows each evening, the user may be disappointed when viewing his or her favorite channels during the day when NBC typically shows soap operas.
Some television systems allow the user to view an electronic program guide on the screen of the television. By navigating through the electronic program guide using a remote control, the user may select a program he or she is interested in viewing. However, in some systems with numerous channels, the user is presented with a large list of programs from which to choose, making the process of selecting a channel burdensome.
Some systems which provide an electronic program guide further include a filtering mechanism by which the user may reduce the number of channels listed in the electronic program guide. By reducing the number of channels displayed, the user's burden of selecting a channel is reduced. However, these systems require the user to navigate through an on-screen menu system each time he or she wishes to filter the electronic program guide. Navigating through an on-screen menu system is time consuming and complicated. In fact, many users never learn how to invoke the filtering feature. Other users avoid the filter feature because it takes too long to invoke the command